Jaig: The Beginning
by Mandalore Jaig
Summary: Before Jaig became Mandalore of the Mandalorian Jedi he was just another infiltrator in Republic space, but now Palpatine has risen to power and he must do what he can to fight this evil and regain his honor.


Jaig: The Beginning

It was raining. Of course on a world mostly covered in rainforest, it wasn't that surprising. His armor was sealed, but it was a mild irritant. Although hanging upside down for hours was worse. But it was worth it. This particular bounty was worth quite a large sum. Jaig had received the job only a few weeks ago. He used some of his contacts and personally scouted the area before finding them. It was a group of pirates who had stolen from the wrong people. Jaig had discovered the camp a couple of days before. They posted sentries at night, but during the day security was more lax. He had been able to sneak in and attach himself to the ceiling, right above the heater that they stood around at night. The structure that they were in was an ancient stone building of sorts. It might have been a temple, but Jaig wasn't real sure. The important thing to him, as it was to the pirates, was that it was large enough to hide a medium bulk cruiser in and protect it from most scans, which was probably why Jaig had been the first to find them. He knew where all the good hiding places were.

Night had finally fallen and some of the pirates went out to stand watch. All that were left was the leader and about a dozen of his henchmen. "It's as good a time as any," thought Jaig. He released the seal his boots had made and fell into the camp. As he neared the ground he pulled out two pistols and rotated to land on his feet. He began firing a spray of stun bolts at the surprised pirates. A couple were able to get off shots before getting hit. One bolt even managed to find its mark, leaving a new scorch on Jaig's armor. He holstered his pistols and began tying up the pirate captain. He heard rustling in the foliage. The blaster shots must have alerted the sentries. He dived behind some cover and to get away from the glow of the heater.

Within a few moments eight guards came to the camp, weapons drawn, their eyes scanning for the attacker. Jaig waited until they were closer and started inspecting the wounded. Then he thumbed the activation switch on a sonic grenade and threw it into the midst of them. He stood and finished tying up the captain. Most of the crew were either unconscious or too dazed to put up any resistance. Slinging the captain over his shoulder he walked out to their ship. He took the access card from the captain and walked inside. He then locked the door.

He tossed the captain into a cell that the pirates had for hostages. Some of the crew had woken up and were trying to get into the ship. Since the captain's card had priority over theirs, they had resorted to shooting at the door. Jaig laughed quietly. The blast marks would probably be an improvement. The ship was a trash heap.

It was however able to fly. Jaig took off and piloted the ship into the upper atmosphere. There he docked with his ship, a Skipray 12 Blastboat, which he had left in orbit. It was an older model, but he had made many improvements. He had increased the armor, weapons, and speed. However, it handled like an overweight nerf. He couldn't chance using the coms, so docking was a necessity. You never knew who was listening. "L5," he called out to his astromech. It tweetled a response. "Take the ship to this destination." He began punching in data to the navigation system. "I'll meet you there in a few days. Put the ship in stealth until I contact you." He then went back to the pirate vessel.

The captain was now awake. The ship was small enough that Jaig could hear him yelling and banging in the hold. Jaig grunted in irritation. He opened the door that led to the cell. With a hiss it opened. The captain began to scream at him. Jaig pulled a pistol and pointed it right at the captain's head. The captain went immediately silent. His eyes went wide and he stared at Jaig's expressionless helmet.

After a moment Jaig spoke, "It's a long trip, I don't like noise, and the bounty is dead or alive." The captain slowly nodded in understanding. He recognized Jaig and knew his reputation. He slinked into a corner of the cell, pulling his knees to his chest, all the while Jaig's gun followed him. Jaig then holstered his gun and left for the cockpit.

He sat down in the pilot's chair and began pressing buttons. He released the seal to his ship and began calculating a course. While he was working on it, his ship began to move, it finished positioning itself, and took off into hyperspace. He smiled as he watched it go. He then went back to his work. It was fortunate that they were this far out in space. It would be less of a trip into the unknown regions. He finished entering the course and pulled the lever, sending them into hyperspace.

He then went down for a nap. It would still be a few hours until their destination. The dream began. It wasn't all that surprising. He'd been having it off and on for awhile now. The dream itself was just irritating. He was running. There was a battle going on that he couldn't help with. They and the situation wouldn't allow it. All he could do was run and hope to make up for it in the future. The idea of failure and helplessness continued to cycle in his mind. He awoke with a start. The alarm telling him that he had arrived had woken him up. As he got up, the sleep and fear faded from his eyes.

Jaig reached the Black Sun Vigo's palace on Nar Shaadaa few days later. He called ahead and landed near the palace itself. The guards eyed him warily at the main door. He didn't even look their direction. He went inside to the Vigo's office. The Vigo was waiting for him, so Jaig went right in. "Where is Captain Tyles?" wheezed the Rodian.

"I went for the dead option," said Jaig carelessly. "He got on my nerves."

"Where is the body then?" The alien was getting impatient. He wanted proof before he gave payment.

"You know my policy. I don't leave bodies. I have his ship. You're welcome to it. I also recovered the shipment you lost. It's still inside. That should be more than worth my fee." Jaig's hand drifted towards one of his pistols. The two guards in the room began going for theirs.

The Vigo, assessing the situation, waved his hands, slightly irritated. "Very well, take your fee and go. You are efficient if nothing else, bounty hunter. And your reputation precedes you. I trust that he will not be coming back." He handed Jaig his credit chit. "Your work is satisfactory. I will contact you if we have any other need of your services."

Jaig bowed his head in acknowledgement and strode out of the room. He took an air-taxi to a place where he could buy a ticket to the nearby moon. He got in with the other passengers, mostly low level thugs looking for work. Neither the planet nor the moon was the sort of place that decent people frequented. They stayed away from him.

Midway through the flight he got up and went through a door to the back of the shuttle. He checked that no one was watching. He disabled the alarms on the airlock. The alarm would have gone off when it depressurized otherwise and alerted the captain. He stepped through the first door and sealed it behind him. He then checked the seals on his suit. Everything seemed to be in working order. He then activated the equalizing sequence which would suck all the air out of the airlock. Once it was completed he opened the door and stepped into space. He fired his jet pack for a short burst to allow him to get past the ship and its ion trail so he wouldn't get hit or cooked.

He checked his position with the computer in his helmet and began to guide himself to his target. As he neared it, he turned off his jetpack and allowed himself to drift. He reached out a hand and in a few moments hit something solid. There was nothing to see, but he knew his ship was there, safely cloaked. The locater led him to the door and he opened it, revealing the inside of his airlock. He step in and pulled the door shut behind him. He didn't trust the Vigo not to double cross him or at least follow him. And you never knew who else might be following you. That's why he had the cloaking device. They were rare and expensive, but totally worth it.

His thoughts drifted to Tyles. He had flown the pirate ship to an uninhabited planet. He landed in a clearing in the woods, near a cave. He stepped out of the ship dragging Tyles behind him. He looked around. The cave seemed to be empty. He threw Tyles in front of him. "It's your lucky day. I'm not going to give you to the Black Sun." Tyles eyes went wide with fear. "And I'm not going to kill you either. I'm going to leave you on this rock to…rethink your life. There are plenty of supplies in the cave, food, clothes, whatever you'll need. I'll be back…eventually and we'll see what new outlook you have." Tyles' face had grown irritated. "Now that kind of attitude is what got you here in the first place. Stealing, killing…where did it get you? Hiding out on some lump of a world, with the authorities and bounty hunters out looking for you. This is your chance to choose something else. But you have to decide if you want it." Jaig turned back to the pirate ship. "I'll see you later Tyles." With that he took off and headed to see the Vigo.

Jaig brought his ship out of hyperspace near a small moon in the unknown regions. The planet it orbited was uninhabitable. There were too many toxins in the atmosphere. Neither the moon nor the planet had a name. They weren't on any maps in the Empire. The moon was barely habitable. It had just enough oxygen for a human to survive. Jaig usually found it necessary to wear an oxygen mask, but he also used the lack of oxygen to increase the difficulty of his training regimen. As a result he rarely ran out of breath even in the most exhausting fights. It also made a natural defense for his base.

It consisted of a small bunker built into a cliff. A hanger allowed him to fly his ship right in. The door was camouflaged so as to be nearly indistinguishable from the natural rock. The cliff also helped to shield the base from scans. Not that anyone really came into the Unknown Regions. There were…unfriendly things out there. Jaig had met some of them, much to their regret. This particular section of space was fairly safe however.

He landed the ship and began powering down. "L5, can you do a systems check. The right stabilizer fin seems a little off." It tweeted an affirmative. "Thanks."

Upon leaving the hanger he shed his armor and placed it in a nearby locker. It was comfortable, but he didn't like wearing it all the time. This was the one place he felt safe. He always came in cloaked and took a different route in every time so that no one would find it. It seemed a bit paranoid, but there were enough competitors and past employers who would prefer him dead.

He checked his Holonet receiver for messages. There were a couple of bounties that had been posted, but nothing worth his time. A message did catch his eye. One of his spies had reported in. He had been paid to hack into the Imperial databases and find on plans for weapons, anything from blaster pistols to capitol ships to super weapons. He had offered the spy money and immunity from the Imperials. He was now pleading to be extracted. He claimed he had the information, but the Imperials were on to him. Jaig was suspicious that he just was getting nervous and wanted his money, but so far the man had been reliable.

"Well," he thought, "so much for taking a break." It would take some time to get to Coruscant, so he had to hurry. He threw back on his armor, resupplied the ship with weapons, ammo and provisions, and took off. As he prepared to jump to hyperspace, he said, "L5, check my credit balance please." After a moment a number ran across his view screen. "25 million credits, plus the 500,000 from the last bounty. Hmmm…put in the order, L5. Have it retrofitted according to the specifications and sent to the coordinates I gave you." L5 warbled an affirmative. He pulled the lever and the stars went into lines.

"I'm going to take a nap. You have the helm." He got up and moved towards the back of the ship. It wasn't especially roomy, but it was big enough for him, maybe another person, and a bounty. He had a cot that folded out of the wall. He laid down, not even bothering to take off his armor.

They reached Coruscant awhile later. As they neared the atmosphere, a traffic controller hailed him, "Space Hawk, what is your name, destination, business, and cargo?" Jaig was using a fake transponder. Coruscant had its seedier portions, but bounty hunters were still not appreciated, at least in noticeable ways.

"RenQlar, Factory District, I've been hired as a security chief for a factory that's being reopened, no cargo." Jaig could hear the other tense up, even through the audio. The Factory District was abandoned. The only things that lived there didn't want to be found. There were even groups of feral droids roaming the streets. No one went there, no one respectable anyways. But his explanation was plausible, and that's all that really mattered.

He landed at the site designated by the traffic controller. "Although," thought Jaig, "calling it a site was being generous." It was little more than a clearing amongst the garbage and discarded metal lining the area. Still, no one would probably see the ship. But just to make sure he pulled out some camo netting and covered the ship with it. He had acquired this particular net for landing in such areas. It made the ship look like a pile of garbage. Of course anyone who frequented the area would know something was up, but there wasn't much he could do about that. Leaving the cloaking device on for long periods of time wasn't good for it, and he only had so many of the crystals that powered it. "I'm heading out L5. Be careful, and if anyone takes an unhealthy interest in the ship, com me." It chirped an affirmative. Jaig went down the hatch which sealed after him.

He hadn't landed right near the coordinates his hacker had given him. It made traveling a little difficult, but helped to preserve security. His destination was on the outer edge of the Factory District. It was a better neighborhood, but that wasn't saying much. There were, however, regular citizens, albeit poor ones, who lived in the area. He encountered few beings on his way. There was one group of droids that he had to hide behind a rusted airspeeder, until they passed. Everyone else stayed out of his way.

At last he reachedthe was an apartment building. Saying it had fallen into disrepair was putting it nicely. He drew a pistol at seeing the door. It had been blown in with a breach charge. He dialed up his audio enhancers and turned on his infrared. There appeared to be only two beings inside. They were in an inner room, crouched. They were making some noise, but Jaig couldn't make it out. He stalked into the entry way, his pistol in front of him. He came near the doorway of the inner room with the people inside. He performed a diving roll and came up in a crouch with his pistol pointed in front of him. Inside he found two middle aged people crying, holding one another. Upon seeing him bursting in, they cried out in fear, with the husband attempting to shield the wife with his body.

Jaig looked around and seeing no threats, he holstered his gun. "What happened here?" he asked, his voice sounding almost mechanical. The husband eyed him in confusion. The wife continued to cry. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a bounty hunter and I only cause problems if I'm getting paid."

The husband, unsure of what was going on, but not seeing any point in keeping quiet said, "They took our son."

"Who?"

"The Imperials."

Jaig looked out a window, just in time to see a Lambda shuttle take off from the street. "Great," he thought to himself. He turned back to the man. "I'll get him back for you."

"We can't pay you."

"Not in credits maybe, but how about in information? I was told to meet someone here. He goes by the name 'Mejan'. He's a computer hacker."

This time the mother spoke. "Mejan?" She looked from Jaig to a poster on the wall. Jaig turned his head. On it was a child's cartoon character. Below it, in gaudy lettering, was splayed 'Mejan'.

"Great, apparently your son is my hacker." He paused, thinking. The couple seemed to calming down a little. "Did the Imperials say anything? Did they say why they were taking him? Or where they were going?"

"No," said the father. "They blew open the door and the next thing we knew, they were hauling, Chauce, our son, into the hallway. They didn't say anything."

"Alright…" said Jaig. He returned to thinking. If it were Imperials, that meant stormtroopers. That meant they came from a garrison, unless they were a specialized group. They went southeast. There was a barracks that way. "Oh, this'll be fun," he thought to himself. "I need to break into an Imperial barracks, on Imperial Center. And there's probably Inquisitors here too. Swell." He turned to the couple and tried to put some hope in his voice. "Don't worry. I'll get your boy back."

He walked outside and commed L5. "I've got some video for you. It's of a shuttle. I need you to analyze it and see if you can pull any identifying markings off it. If you can, tell me what barracks it's based out of. I'm off to see a man about some weapons." With that he sent the clip to L5. He had been able to zoom in and record the shuttle taking off. Shuttles were marked, albeit not noticeably, unless you knew what you were looking for.

He started walking into the seedier regions of Coruscant. Skiprays were great if you wanted to blow something up. He could pretty easily take out the barracks and eliminate everyone inside. Unfortunately, that would also kill the boy. What he needed were some weapons. Actually what he needed were about a dozen commandos, but seeing as that wasn't going to happen he'd have to settle for some really big guns. He had his standard equipment on board his ship, but not enough to take on a barracks, at least not for what he had in mind.

He took an air taxi deeper into Coruscant. He stopped, paid the driver and walked the rest of the way to a dingy looking warehouse. There was a group of hired muscle pretending to be casual outside. As he approached, they eyed him warily. They were there to guard the warehouse. They knew it. Jaig knew it. They also didn't like the idea of fighting a Mandalorian. Jaig looked at them all through the multiple cameras on his helmet. He reached into a pouch on his belt. They all started going for their weapons. He raised his other hand towards them in a gesture of peace. "Gentlemen, I want no trouble with you today. None of you have bounties on your heads to the best of my knowledge, and I have business with your boss." He pulled his other hand out of the pocket and tossed a handful of credits in the air. As the guards squabbled over the money, he walked into the warehouse.

It was dark inside, but that was to be expected. A purveyor of highly illegal weapons didn't like to advertise. Jaig made his way through the warehouse, mingling with the darkness. Moving silently and unseen was one of Jaig's specialties.

"Tal," Jaig called out upon nearing the Devaronian who was sitting behind a counter.

"Jaig?" he asked, looking up, clearly startled.

"Yeah, I'm looking for…"Jaig began, stopped, and raised his hands as Tal pointed a DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol at him. "Now, Tal…"

"I don't want to hear it. The last time I did business with you, the Imperials tracked me down and confiscated my entire stock. I was barely able to bribe the official to let me go. So whatever it is, I don't have it."

"Tal…"

"No."

"Tal…"

"No, and if you don't leave right now…"

"I'll pay you double the going rate."

The Devaronian stopped in mid-sentence. "Plus cover the shipping costs?"

"Done."

"Then we have ourselves a deal." He stood up from the stool he was sitting on and holstered his pistol. "You know, I always did like you," he said with a tremendous grin. "What's it today?" He began leading Jaig through a hidden door into his large stock room.

"I need some missile launchers. Nine or ten ought to suffice. I'll need some power and gas cells for a DC-17 Hand Blaster and a WESTAR-M5 blaster rifle, as well as half a dozen thermal detonators."

The Devaronian stopped in shock. "That's quite an order." His fingers twitched nervously as he thought. Jaig could see the alien's greed fighting with his desire for self preservation. "Now, you can make sure that this doesn't get traced back to me?"

Jaig spread out his arms in a sign of care, "Tal… it's not my fault that the Imps followed your men back to your store. I had to fight off the ones that tried to seize my shipment. Someone in your organization squealed about the drop."

Tal growled his disapproval of Jaig pushing the blame onto him. At last he sighed, putting his hand on his chin in thought. "You may be right. In any case, I'll take care of this one personally." Then he looked up at Jaig. "But if anything happens to me. The Hutts will be after you. I'm their chief supplier of the more…exotic weapons."

"Understood, Tal. I appreciate your care in this matter. I'll keep that in mind for your fee." He fished around in a pouch. He pulled out some credit chips. Tal looked on hungrily, his tongue slithering, as Jaig counted them. He dropped the majority of them into Tal's outstretched hand. "50,000 ought to do it, half now, half on delivery."

Tal's eyes lit up and then narrowed. "Yes, I suppose it's enough. You really do take advantage of me."

Jaig nodded and waved as he walked away. "I want those weapons in two hours. I'll comm. where to drop them off."

"Will do."

"Oh, and Tal," Jaig called while still walking away.

"Yeah?"

"I'd fire that hired muscle of yours. They let me in for only 50 credits." With that Jaig left the ware house, leaving the Devaronian spitting out foul language.

While they had been talking, L5 had commed him. He had been listening to Imperial broadcasts. The boy was to be interrogated by an Inquisitor, who would be arriving in a few hours. The Inquisitor's were Palpatine's dark side Imperial Intelligence operatives. They were typically not brought in unless a subject had been able to resist normal interrogation techniques. "The kid must have found something big," thought Jaig. "I have to get him out fast. I don't want an Inquisitor on my tail." Inquisitors other specialty was hunting down rogue Jedi.

Tal arrived at the destination that Jaig had told him, right on time. Jaig stepped out of the air speeder he had bought while waiting for the delivery. He walked over to Tal's vehicle. "Alright, Tal, just let me see the merchandise. Then I'll give you the rest of the payment." Tal opened the back doors from the cab. As Jaig began checking the crates, Tal got out and made his way to the back of the vehicle. "Everything seems to be accounted for," said Jaig. "You know, I think I might just have to take back everything I've ever said about you." Jaig turned around to see Tal pointing a very big disruptor rifle. "Well, almost everything," said Jaig, putting up his hands.

"I was driving here, and it dawned on me. I could just kill you, take your credits, the weapons, and be done with your irritation." Jaig had forgotten how irritable Devaronians could be, and vindictive.

"I must be getting rusty," thought Jaig. "I let him get right behind me without even looking at him." A disruptor beam would go right through his armor. His mind quickly went through his options. He decided on one. "Yep, risky, but better than using the force and chancing an Inquisitor noticing me."

"Now, Tal…" he began in a very calm voice. And then he moved. A long, thin blade sprang from his right gauntlet and into his hand. He threw it as he dodged to the right. The blade struck the Devaronian in the right shoulder. He fired and the blast destroyed the dividing wall between the cabin and freight area of his vehicle. Jaig rose and walked over to Tal, who had managed to pick up the gun and was trying to fire still at Jaig while he lay on the ground. "I'll give you credit. You picked a good gun for the job." He kicked it away from him. "My armor would have been useless. Unfortunately you have to make the first shot count. It has a really slow reload time." He crouched down near the now cringing Devaronian. "I tell you what Tal. I'm not going to kill you." He ripped out the blade and wiped off the blood on Tal's tunic. He then replaced it into his gauntlet. He shook his head. "No. I like you too much." His voice had gone much colder. "In fact, I think I'm going to buy all of my weapons from you from now on. I might just have to take your entire inventory. I'm sure the Hutts will be pleased when you explain to them that someone else has taken the weapons you promised them and your bank accounts have mysteriously inflated. They'll probably be very understanding." Tal was quietly sobbing. "You don't think so? Hmmm. I suggest then, that you give me no further problems. I don't intend on ever having dealings with you again." Jaig stood up, and not bothering to unload Tal's vehicle, simply took it and drove away. Tal would inevitably get up and take Jaig's vehicle back to his shop. At that point, Jaig didn't much care what he did as long as he stayed out of his way.

He spent the next hour setting up and getting ready. At last everything was set. He was just around the corner from the Imperial base that was holding Chauce, near a patrolling group of Stormtroopers. He pushed the switch on a remote and there were many small explosions around the base. These were soon followed by much larger explosions as the walls surrounding the base crumbled. Jaig had set up the missile launchers for remote firing. The Stormtroopers took off running back to the base. Jaig followed them.

The base was partially destroyed. Much of the exterior was in ruins. As the walls came down, more missiles flew in and hit the barracks and mess hall, where the majority of the soldiers were at. A group of Stormtroopers went running by the detention center. The last one slowed and came to a stop, checking to make sure that no one was watching. He then entered. There were no guards on duty. There was a call going through the Imperial channel to secure the perimeter and breach the buildings that the missiles were coming from. He checked the prisoner registry and found the cell that the kid was in. At this point Jaig realized a flaw in his plan. He had no way of opening the cell door. He hadn't thought to grab a key card. He thought quickly. There were security cameras everywhere and if he used the force to just blast the doors apart, he would have Inquisitors swarming the place in minutes. Then he thought of something and smiled under his helmet. He braced his fingertips at the crack where the two panels that made up the door met. Then calling on the force he pulled the door apart. To anyone watching the cameras it would look like he pulled the door apart through brute strength.

As the door opened he saw a scrawny little kid sprawled out on the bench inside. "Aren't you a little tall for a Stormtrooper?"

"Huh?" Jaig shook his head. "It's me Jaig. No time to for this nonsense. Let's go." He grabbed the kid by the arm and half ran, half dragged him out of the detention center. His missile salvos had left the wall nearest the detention center intact. He pushed his remote again and a missile blew that wall apart. The Imperials hadn't been as interested in securing it since it was still up. Upon seeing him and the kid running for the wall, some Stormtroopers began to yell and give chase. "Cover your ears!" Jaig yelled as he pulled the thermal detonator off the back of his belt and tossed it behind him. The resulting explosion dissuaded the Stormtroopers from pursuing.

Jaig pulled the kid through a doorway into a nearby building. The stormtroopers hadn't gotten to searching it yet because no missiles had been fired from it. Jaig had hidden a speeder bike inside. He and the kid climbed on board. Jaig turned on the cloaking device. He then fired some small explosives on the wall in front of the speeder. The wall disintegrated and the shot out of the building making for the kid's parent's apartment.

An Imperial shuttle landed amid the chaos of the mostly destroyed base. An Inquisitor stepped down the boarding ramp. Reports were coming in. All of the missiles had been remote fired. The cell holding the hacker had been broken into by someone posing as a stormtrooper. "A sense a lingering presence," thought the Inquisitor. He inhaled. "Yes, a Jedi."

Along the way he radioed L5 to get the ship ready and fly to his coordinates with the ship cloaked. He stopped at the building and ran up the stairs to the apartment dragging the kid along with him. He removed his helmet as he burst through the door, startling the parents. "You've got one minute to grab whatever you need before we leave. The Imperials will be swarming this place before you know it." The mother went to embrace Chauce. Jaig stopped her. "I'm sorry. We don't have time. Grab what you need. We have to go."

They had few possessions and were ready by the time L5 brought the ship around. Jaig had put back on his helmet and could hear the urgency over the airwaves as the Imperials mobilized troops. They weren't sure where the kid had gone, but they had sent three squads to the apartment with air cover. Jaig had the family on the roof. L5 lowered opened the hatch. The open doorway was the only part visible of the ship. He had the ship hovering at the edge of the building. Jaig threw their belongings inside and ushered them in. He had just closed the hatch as the Imperials began to arrive.

Jaig hopped into the pilot's seat. "Everyone strap in!" he yelled. He pulled back on the yoke and drove hard for space. It was tricky flying. Traffic above Coruscant was dense and without a controller to clear a path for you, it bordered on suicidal. But Jaig was a good pilot and he had the force to help him. Fortunately, due to his cloaking device there was no pursuit.

Suddenly there was a blast across his rear deflector shield. "What was that L5?!" he called as he juked and swerved around the traffic. One of his screens changed in response. A TIE Interceptor was close behind and catching up fast. "Sith spit!"Jaig swore. "It must be an Inquisitor," he thought to himself. "Practically the only way that someone could detect us is through the force." He couldn't sense the other pilot, but that wasn't one of his strong suits.

He began to notice that traffic was clearing out around them. He hadn't been trying to hide their course. He had gone for the most direct way to space, straight up. An alarm blared. He checked one of the displays. "We've got an Interdictor and a Star Destroyer approaching. They sure want you bad kid," he called to the back. The two ships were coming in side by side to stop their escape. The Interdictor's gravity well generator would eliminate the ability to jump to hyperspace. The TIE Intercpetor had ceased firing and was hanging back, but keeping up. "He's probably calling in our position so that they can lock onto us with a tractor beam."A glimmer of an idea came to his mind. He called out, "L5, plot an escape course, I don't care where. We can go to the Unknown Regions from there." He turned the ship to fly right in between the capital ships.

"Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer…" began Chauce.

"Never tell me the odds, kid," he called back. "L5, arm the proton torpedo and concussion missile launchers in the front and rear. Those guys want you alive. They're not going to fire on us, especially while we're flying in-between their ships."

They continued to get closer to the capital ships. The Interdictor had its gravity well generator already up and running. Escape into hyperspace was impossible for the moment. Power readings from the ships showed that their tractor beams were trying to get a lock onto Jaig's ship. They were like invisible fingers, subtly pulling on the ship. He began to fly a zigzag course in order to confuse the Inquisitor calling in their position.

He began to work on the targeting screen. Suddenly he said, "Fire, L5." The ship had two sets of proton torpedo and concussion missile launchers, one of each in the front and back. The projectiles streaked out towards their targets, the bridges of the capital ships. With a flash of light they exploded. The shielding of the ships was too much for the explosives to do much damage, but it was enough for the bridge crew to get shaken up. This included the comm officer that was receiving the position reports from the Inquisitor.

Jaig was now past the capital ships. They wouldn't have time to turn around and give chase before he cleared the gravity well. There was a shudder through the ship. The Inquisitor had begun to fire again. He was also hailing them on the comm. "I know you can hear me. Give the boy up and I promise to let you go." The voice oozed persuasively.

"L5, kill the comm and distract him with the laser cannons. Let me know when we clear that gravity well," Jaig ordered. He eyed a nearby Golan III space defense platform. He thought to himself, "Now let's just hope they don't get too angry at us and open up with that…"

The Inquisitor continued to shoot at them, while dodging the laser cannon blasts. The Inquisitor was a very capable pilot and gunner. He was whittling away at the shields without endangering the ship. But he was out of time. L5 warbled that they had cleared the gravity well. Jaig gave a self-satisfied smile, and pushed the lever to jump to hyperspace. The stars went to lines and they were away.

It had been a short jump, just enough to get away from the Imperials. Jaig entered another set of coordinates and they headed for the Unknown Regions. With the ship in auto pilot and there being some time before they would reach their destination, Jaig turned to Chauce. There hadn't been time to talk to the boy before. "So what is it that you found that has the Empire so interested in you?

The boy grinned, taking obvious pride in his slicing skills. "I found all of his dirty little secrets."

"Whose?" asked Jaig, his eyebrow raised.

"Palpatine's."

Jaig's eyes narrowed, "What secrets?"

"Well…" the kid said, his smile fading.

"Out with it Chauce, the Imperials didn't go through the trouble of capturing you for nothing. And they certainly don't move two capital ships to stop you from escaping for fun."

"I didn't actually get any hard data, more like a summary." Jaig gave him a hard look. The kid sighed. "There was a list of Imperial force locations, names of what I assume are new models of ships and weapons…"

"Names and places don't help me much, kid. I need to know what he's planning, what his strengths and weaknesses are, anything that can help me and hurt him." Jaig went quiet a minute, thinking. Chauce's parents looked at each other fearfully. If this mercenary had no use for their son, would he allow them to live?

"I didn't say that I didn't know where to get the info," said Chauce quietly. Jaig looked at him. Most of the data wasn't there, so much of it I didn't bother slicing. There was only a summary page located on the network. I'm guessing that the rest is on servers that are completely cut off from outside access."

"So I'd have to break into where their stored? And where would that be?"

"The Imperial Palace…"

"Great."

"…and a location that I can't seem to find in any of the directories."

"What?"

"That's when they caught me. There was a list of coordinates. I had to use several back doors to get there, and apparently the Emperor had it rigged to set off alarms if the file was accessed. I was only able to get one location off the file and I couldn't find anything there on the star charts."

"Hmmm…it must be a ship, or asteroid…or maybe an unrecorded planet. You think that the data is there?"

"I believe so. It's at least worth a shot and would be easier than breaking back into Coruscant. They're going to be on high alert for you now."

"Thanks." Jaig began to think. A few moments later he said, "Alright, I'll check it out, after I drop you and your parents somewhere safe. I want you to keep on looking for what you can get off the Imperial computers. This time stay away from the Emperor's personal directory."

The kid grinned. "Will do." 

They came out of hyperspace deep in the Unknown Regions. "Where are we?" asked Chauce's father.

"Somewhere where the Empire will never tread," said Jaig, then he added under his breath, "if it knows what's good for it." He then began opening up a sub-space frequency. "Hey Garth, I need you to pick up some passengers for me. Hurry if you typical spot." He then closed the frequency.

"Who's Garth? Where is he going to take us?" asked Chauce, looking out the window and not recognizing anything.

"He's an old friend of mine. Look, ah," Jaig was never sure how to explain this, at least to people that he cared at all about, "I'm not just a bounty hunter, I'm…"

"A Mandalorian Jedi," chimed in Chauce. "I know."

Jaig looked at him in amazement. "How?"

"I never go to work for someone without learning all about them. Granted there wasn't much about you, but the bounty hunter known as Jaig didn't show up until right after the Clone Wars. There was no such person in the Mandalorians, so that meant that it either wasn't your real name or you recently became a Mandalorian. However, it is a Mandalorian word and I couldn't find anyone letting a 'Jaig' join the Mandalorians. But, on a hunch I went through the Jedi archives list of names. There was a footnote mentioning that a Jedi Knight named 'Jaig' took up residence soon before the Clone Wars started. There was however, no other mention of him anywhere. Now, due to your obvious tactical expertise and armor it seems that you are also Mandalorian. So that leads me to the conclusion that you are a Mandalorian Jedi. I must say that intrigues me since I could find only one other person who could call themselves that, a Bardin Jusik. But he left the Order. So you are not him since you are older than Bardin would be. So, just who are you?"

Jaig smiled, although there was still some worry in his eyes. "I see I hired the right slicer. I thought all record of me at the Temple had been deleted." He took a breath. "You scared me there, though. You see, Bardin and I, I did meet him once, are not the only Mandalorian Jedi. I thought perhaps you had found about all of us, and if you had, so could the Empire. Although, Bardin is not a part of my people. There are whole planets of us. We moved out here before the Mandalorian War."

"That was almost four thousand years ago."

"That's right. You know your history. My people didn't take with the other Mandalorians idea of starting a war with the Republic so we left. We started up new lives in the Unknown Regions. After the war we heard about the atrocities that were committed in the Mandalorian name. We vowed to atone for our people's crimes. We took in some of the outcast Jedi who fought in the war against the wishes of the Council. It wasn't easy living out here. There were many species that weren't friendly. Not least amongst them the Yuuzhan Vong. My people soon decided that the best way we could serve the Republic would be in stopping them and others from invading the galaxy. With all of the infighting the galaxy would have serious problems defeating them. We've been fighting them for generations. It's been mostly a stalemate during my lifetime, but with the tech we can get from the Emperor, it might just give us the edge we need to drive the Vong from the Unknown Regions and back to the galaxy they came from."

"You still didn't tell us where we're going," said Chauce's mother.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I get lost in my storytelling sometimes. You'll be taken to one of the colonies. There you can get jobs, start over, whatever you want to do. If your son is willing, we could sure use his slicing skills. You'll find that it is a welcoming place. We get all kinds of refugees, castoffs and enemies of the Empire."

"Why don't you drop us off yourself?" asked Chauce.

Jaig was quiet for moment, a memory coming to mind. _Jaig was racing through the halls of the Jedi Temple. Order 66 was in full swing. The 501st legion was attacking the Jedi temple. He was getting closer to the sounds of the fighting. "We were wrong," he thought to himself. "Palpatine moved sooner than we expected. Now many will die for our failure." _

He came back to himself. "I can't. My mission isn't complete yet. Garth will take care of you." They were silent for the next half hour or so.

A dull blue dot appeared in the distance. "How's it going Captain?" asked a voice over the come.

Jaig smiled in spite of himself. "Nice to hear your voice, Garth. It's been awhile."

"That it has. So what's so important that you had to come yourself? Didn't want to use one of the typical drop points?"

"I'll tell you when you get here."

The blue dot soon morphed into a heavily modified MandalMotors Pursuer-class enforcement ship. It soon docked and they all moved out of the cramped Skipray. Jaig and Garth clasped arms. "It's been a long time since Coruscant. When are you going to give up this self-induced exile business?" Jaig's eyes drifted to Chauce and his family, in a warning glance. "Ah. Well, then. How is the bounty hunting business?"

"It's been good. I'm working on a deal that will be really good for our people. But we can talk about that later. I need you to take these people to one of our colonies."

"What's their story? More people you've forced into asylum?"

"They weren't contracts. Chauce here," Jaig motioned to the boy, "is the best slicer I've ever seen. I hired him for a job and the Imps came after him. I barely got them out of Coruscant in time. I had to rescue Chauce from an Imp base."

"That sounds messy. So they're willing to join our merry band?"

"That's up to them." Jaig turned to Chauce and his family. "It really is your choice. We can set you up with fake names. The credits I owe Chauce will support you for quite a while. We can put you on any planet you choose. But I must warn you, once you go to a Mandalorian Jedi world, there is no going back. You will be a Mandalorian Jedi with all of the rights and responsibilities there in."

After a brief look at his wife and son to get their feelings, Chauce's father spoke. "Sir, the Empire's done us no favors, and if the rest of your people are as decent as you seem to be, I'd like to do my part to help them."

Jaig smiled. "Thank you. Not everyone is decent, but there's much less corruption than in the Empire, and even than there was in the Republic. There is still some political problems and occasional crime, but for the most part the society has stayed on the straight and narrow. We're still human," he then added with a grin, "and everything else"

Chauce's father looked at his family for confirmation, and they all agreed. "We still accept."

"Alright, welcome to the Mandalorian Jedi," said Jaig offering his hand.

Aboard the Executer, Darth Vader knelt before a hologram emitter. It flickered to life, revealing the head of the Emperor, at ten times the scale. "Lord Vader," it uttered.

"My Master," spoke Darth Vader.

"There is a rogue force user who has taken refuge on the planet Thule. The Imperial force that was pursuing has failed at capturing him. He appears to have rudimentary force skills and is a Gen'Dai. I want him taken alive. I am sending Forn, one of the Inquisitors to capture him. He recently failed in stopping a rescue mission from Coruscant. Should he fail again,you will dispose of him. Also, you are to insure that he and any other forces stay on task. You are not to allow them to discover my store house there. If they do, _eradicate_ all of them. Leave no survivors. You are to go with all speed and take no other potential witnesses with you. Is that understood, my apprentice?"

"Yes, my Master."

"Good." With that the image vanished. Vader stood. He had been to Thule once, during the Clone Wars. He had fought a Gen'Dai once, but he had been a skilled and ancient bounty hunter. The Gen'Dai could survive for thousands of years and could heal from any wound. He finally destroyed him by hurling him into a sun. It seemed a lifetime ago. But that life was Anakin Skywalker's, and he died with the rest of the Jedi.

He turned and pushed a button on the communications board. "Yes, Lord Vader," said Admiral Ozzel.

"Have my star fighter prepared. I leave immediately."

"At once, Lord Vader."

Jaig and Garth got a moment alone while Chauce and his parents were moving their meager belongings unto Garth's ship. "You know you can come back," said Garth. "You have friends here, your father…"

"My father is Mandalore," Jaig cut him off. "He can't help me. You know how politics are, even with our people. There are those that would like to see him taken off the throne. I can only return when I have redeemed myself for my failure."

"You can't take all of the blame. The elimination of the Jedi was not your fault. Palpatine blinded the whole galaxy."

"We knew, or at least suspected. We could have done something."

"Yeah, and been tried for treason by the Republic. It was during the war, Jaig. If we had done anything we would have been branded as traitors and killed, or at least imprisoned. We would have never have seen home again."

Jaig sighed. "I know."

"Besides, there's always going to be people that are envious of your family, your position. Nothing you do or don't do will change that." Garth looked through the hatchway and saw that Chauce and his family were just about ready. "You come back when you're ready." He extended his hand. "There are those of us who will be glad to see you return, no matter what."

They shook hands. "Thanks Garth." Jaig walked towards the airlock to his ship. He waved to Chauce and his family, and closed the door.

He sat down in the pilot's chair. He had exchanged his stormtrooper disguise for his Mandalorian armor. He took a breath, letting go of some of his emotions. "Alright L5, looks like we're headed for the Outer Rim. Enter the coordinates and let's get this mission over with." He paused thinking a moment. "Wait, let's stop off at home first. Maybe our package has arrived." He smiled. "It might come in handy."

Forn came out of hyperspace near Thule, in his modified TIE Interceptor. There was an Escort Carrier in orbit around the planet. Forn was slightly disgusted. He had hoped for at least a single Star Destroyer, not something as trivial as this ship. Where ever the target had run from, it must have not had much of an Imperial presence. This ship was designed for escorting convoys, not chasing a rogue force user. He hailed it and transmitted the necessary security codes. "This is Imperial Security Bureau Agent Forn. I am taking command of this operation as per the Emperor's orders."

"This is Captian Morin. We have received the orders and you will have our full cooperation. You are welcome to dock." There was a note of fear in his voice. The ISB was well known for having a reputation of making people disappear.

"My…strengths will be more useful on the ground. Where is the target?"

"We had damaged his ship. He managed to crash land on the planet. He… has eluded our patrols, sir. He was last seen heading north into some ruins. We are having difficulty in tracking him. The patrols that we've sent into the ruins have not returned. We believe that he has stolen weapons from some of our downed men. I thought it best to wait for you to arrive before any more resources were employed."

"You mean before you looked any more incompetent. You let a single being give you this much difficulty?!"

"Sir, I…"

"Save it. Be of use to me now and your failures will not find their way into my report."

"Thank you, sir. I…"

"Just send down whatever stormtroopers you have left with me, and make sure they understand how to follow my orders."

"Understood, sir."

Forn turned off the communicator. He was actually quite scared himself. Palpatine had been quite clear that this was his last chance to show his usefulness. He did not like to think about what might happen if he failed. There were stories. Forn shuddered. He didn't like to think about them. He knew that the Emperor probably had them spread himself, but that didn't mean that they weren't true.

He turned his attention back to the mission. All he had to do was capture this untrained force-sensitive. He may have some use of the Force, but he had nothing compared to Forn's power, or so he told himself. If he was able to capture and turn the alien, the Emperor promised him greater power than he had ever dreamed. "We shall see," said Forn.

He landed his ship and walked out on to the planet. A squad of stormtroopers was there to escort him. The stormtrooper commander briefed him. "He's pinned up in those rocks, sir." Forn looked up. There was a tall hill with the ruins of a temple on top. The hill was a part of the foothills of a mountain. The stormtrooper continued, "Whenever we approach he throws down grenades, or rocks come out of nowhere and pummel us. The climb is treacherous and I've already lost four troops to bad falls. Occasionally he pops out and fires a few blaster bolts down, but he seems to be keeping his head down for the most part."

"Very well, commander. Have you sealed off the area?"

"Yes, sir. He's not getting out of here. Our blasters are set to stun as per orders."

"Good. It seems that I will be going on alone then. I want you and your men to keep him on that hill or to stun him if he comes off. Under no circumstances is he to escape this area."

"Understood, sir." The commander saluted.

With that Forn force leaped onto the slope leading up the hill. He pulled out his lightsaber, turning down its setting to non-lethal. He was going to enjoy this hunt.

Jaig came out of hyperspace a good distance from the planet. He didn't like jumping into anything, and in this case his fears were well founded. "Well what do we have here?" he said, peering at a significantly magnified image of an Imperial Escort Carrier. "There's nothing on this planet. I wonder what they're doing." He turned on the cloaking device and approached. "L5, run some passive scans. I don't want them to know that we're here. Try and figure out what they're doing. I'm going to land by the site our coordinates give."

L5 began to bring up images of a crashed Headhunter starfighter. "Huh, well someone's got their attention anyways. At least they'll be distracted while we figure out what this is all about." He brought the ship into land by some ruins at the foot of a mountain.

He got out of his ship. "Place stinks of the dark side and…Sith," he thought to himself, spitting out the last word. He activated his comlink, "Keep the ship cloaked, L5. Keeping out of sight here is probably worth the Stygium crystals."

He began walking to where the coordinates had directed him to. There was a giant door made of rock. He saw no way of opening it. "Hmmm…well at least with all this dark side energy, no one's going to pick up me using the force." He reached out with his hands and made a pulling motion. There was a great grinding noise. He grunted with the effort. The doors were very heavy. Finally they opened up enough for him to enter. "Interesting," he thought to himself. "Palpatine's secret base? That would explain the lack of alarms and guards. He wouldn't want anyone knowing his secrets." He left the doors open so that he could make a quick escape if necessary. There was only a little light inside and most of it was from the open doorway.

He continued walking. His helmet began to show signs of growing poisonous gas levels in the air. His armor had enough air on board and a rebreathing unit that it really wasn't a problem, but it did shorten his ability to stay there long."This must be an emergency base for him to rebuild in case he ever loses the throne. I wonder how many of these he has."

He walked a little further and noticed someone crouching in an alcove. He readied himself for combat. After a few moments he had his helmet switch to thermal. The body was room temperature. He relaxed. He could have checked through the force for life, but that was not one of his strengths. He was almost entirely combat orientated. He couldn't see the glimpses of the future, sense people's emotions, or influence their minds. He approached the body. This person had probably succumbed to the gas. As he was wondering who the person was and checking their pockets, a lightsaber rolled out and onto the floor. He picked it up and ignited it. "Red blade, he was probably a dark jedi. Palpatine probably dropped him here as a guard. Probably didn't even know he was guarding anything. He must have found this place and the gas over took him. Hmph," he thought to himself. He pocketed the lightsaber and moved on.

He walked through many rooms, seeing many of Palpatine's trophies. Jaig grew more disgusted by the minute. The guy had terrible taste in art. Most of it was impressionistic and depressing.

At last he found a computer terminal. Chauce's guess was that Palpatine had all the data hidden on a secured server at this location where no one would think to look for it. Jaig hooked up a datapad that Chauce had given him. Using the codes that he had gained from slicing into Palpatine's personal computer, it began to access the files that Jaig wanted.

As he was waiting for the datapad to register that it was finished, he heard a growling. He turned to see several Tukata moving towards him. "Great," he thought to himself. "Palpatine would bring them from Korriban to here." Tukata were just plain mean. They're almost a mix between a dragon, a dog, and a Sith. They had horns, claws and teeth. They were also semi-sentient and could speak Sith. They were used on Korriban to guard the Sith Lords' Tombs. Their dark fur had cloaked them in the relative darkness of the room.

They attacked Jaig as one. Two went for his legs, while one jumped for his torso, and another for his head. He activated his flame thrower on his left arm, driving the two on the ground back. He reached for one of his lightsabertonfas on his right thigh with his other hand. He managed to slash at the one going for his head, cutting off a large portion of one of its legs. However he missed the one going for his midsection. He was knocked backwards, onto his shook off the momentary surprise, but it was too late. They were already on top of him, ripping at his armor. Soon one of them might find a soft spot. He didn't have Beskargam all over.

He calmed himself, calling on the force. He closed his eyes and pushed. The Tukata went flying. He got up and sprinted for the datapad. It was blinking green. It had completed the download. With one hand he grabbed it and put it into his belt. With the other he palmed a thermal detonator. Tossing it behind him he charged for the open door. The detonator went off, claiming a couple of the beasts. The two survivors chased after him. One of them was the one missing a limb. It didn't seem to be slowing it down at all. But he was closing on the door. He dived through it, using the force to close it behind him. The surviving Tukata were sealed inside.

As he got up and dusted himself off he received a message from L5, "Sir, the Imperials are searching around the ship. I'm afraid they might bump into it." The text scrawled across his helmet's view screen.

"Great," Jaig thought to himself. He radioed L5, "Alright. I'll deal with it. In the meantime I'm sending you some data. If this thing goes south, you high tail it out of here and get it to Garth." L5 accepted the order. Jaig hooked up the datapad to his comlink and sent the data. "Time to find some Imperials," though Jaig as he walked off.

Forn dodged the flying rocks. The force user was good, but not exceptionally strong. None of the rocks were bigger than six centimeters in diameter. Forn dodged and leaped as they flew at him. Based on their trajectories, he had a pretty good guess as to where his target was hiding. He hadn't yet shown himself, but Forn was confident that he was in a rock cropping about twenty meters ahead of him.

The shower of rocks was slowing down. "He must be getting tired," thought Forn. He smiled wickedly. He was now just in front of the rocky outcrop. He called on the force and shook the largest boulder. Out ran a young alien, no more than sixteen standard years. As he ran, he fired blasts from his captured E-11. Forn blocked the shots with his red lightsaber.

As the boy stopped firing and dived behind some more rocks, Forn pulled the blaster from his hands. "Come on out, boy! I'm done playing!" There was no response. He began to walk towards the boy's hiding place. "My master wants you alive and unspoiled." There was still no response.

Finally Forn leaped over the outcropping. As the boy looked up in terror, Forn fired a tranquilizer dart from his gauntlet. It struck the boy and he soon fell unconscious.

Forn touched his comlink, "Commander, I have the boy. Come to my position for retrieval."

"Yes, sir," came the quick reply.

A few minutes later a group of stormtroopers had taken the boy into custody and were shackling him with stun cuffs. The stormtrooper commander turned to Forn as he listened to the comlink in his helmet. "Sir, a Mandalorian has been apprehended by a patrol. They suspect that he has ties to the suspect. They're taking him up to the carrier now, to be put in the brig."

"Hmm… I shall want to interrogate him."

"Very good, sir. We should be done here in a few minutes."

Jaig had been listening to the stormtroopers talk. His skills in the force allowed him to heighten physical attributes, and this included his hearing. "So, they were chasing someone. And he appears to be a force user," he thought to himself. "Interesting." Then he heard something he didn't like. "An Inquisitor. That's not good." He pondered his situation a little longer. If he escaped or killed the guards around him and made it back to his ship, they would see the lift off, or at least the scorch marks on the ground. They would know that he hadn't come with the boy. Then they would wonder why he was there. The planet held nothing of interest. His break in might be discovered. Then a plan began to develop. Granted it was rather rough and would rely on typical Imperial ineptitude and a lot of luck, but it was probably his best bet.

The excitement was finally starting to calm down amongst the Imperials. The prisoners had been taken and all seemed well. Two guards patrolled the brig. The prisoners' clothes and weapons had been taken and replaced with prisoner fatigues. The Inquisitor was due to interrogate them in an hour.

As the guards passed by one of the cell doors, it suddenly blew open, crushing both guards against the other wall. Jaig walked out and grabbed one of the guard's guns, but he didn't see any other guards. However, that would probably change. He could already hear alarms going off. He grabbed a thermal detonator off one of the guard's utility belts and flung it at the only turbolift. It exploded, rendering the lift inoperable. "Well that will slow them down," thought Jaig.

He wasn't sure where the kid was. Jaig had been brought aboard before the kid. He didn't have a whole lot of time to search for him, and he wasn't sure if this was the only brig on board. He only had a general idea of where he was himself. Then he heard scrapping on one of the doors. He reached out with the force and ripped the door out. He leaned around the corner of the doorway, blaster first. He wasn't sure who might be on the other side. The blaster was pushed out of the doorway by an invisible force. Jaig knew it must be the kid.

He lowered the blaster and walked in. The kid was crouched in the corner, his arms up in a fighting stance, but looking weak. "Don't worry, kid. I'm about as far from being an Imperial as you can get." He offered his hand. "What's your name?" The kid looked at him warily, but seeing the prisoner fatigues, he put down his fists.

"My name is Wraith." They shook hands.

Jaig could hear the Imperials making head way up the turbolift. "Nice to meet you. I'd love to hear more about your life story and exchange philosophical viewpoints, but we need to get going." He handed the kid the blaster. "Here, take this. Grab what you want off the two guards out there. I'm going to get my stuff."

Jaig went out to the reception area of the brig. There was a small locked closet. Jaig had seen the guards put his equipment in it. He ripped the door off. He then put on his armor and weapons. Wraith relieved the guards of their utility belts, strapping one across his waist and the other bandolier style.

"How are we getting out of here?" called Wraith.

"Working on it!" yelled Sean impatiently. He really was doing his plan by the seat of his pants. As he put on his armor, he called into his helmet, "L5, ya still there?" There was a warbled affirmative. "Good, I need you to call for that package, okay?" Again, there was an affirmative response.

Jaig closed the connection as he strapped on the last bit of equipment. "You ready, kid?"

"Yep!"

Jaig smiled slightly. It had been awhile since he really let himself cut loose with the force. He inhaled and then exhaled as he threw out an arm, palm out, towards the durasteel floor. A section three meters in diameter was ripped out and fell to the level below. Jaig and Wraith jumped down and took off running. Jaig had drawn his DC-15 side arm blaster, shooting everyone that they came across, because generally they were shooting back. He believed in the element of surprise and if no one was alive to report their whereabouts, there would be less organized resistance and less enemies overall.

Jaig was making for the hanger. It comprised a large portion of the ship, since the ship's primary purpose was to transport smaller craft that lacked hyperdrives. They were getting close. Jaig was reading the markers set above all of the doorways.

They were almost there when a dark figure stepped out of a doorway and ignited a red lightsaber. Jaig stopped dead in his tracks. He recognized the figure, but had never seen him in person. "You have caused much trouble today. My master will not be pleased," said Vader. He added as almost an afterthought, "Jedi."

Jaig stiffened and then relaxed. He turned to the kid. The hanger was just through a nearby doorway. "Go pick out something will both fit in and get it ready to go. I'll be there in a minute. If I'm not, get out of here." The kid nodded and ran through the doorway.

Jaig turned back to Vader, almost grinning under his helmet, "A Jedi you say? Well, I guess there's no point in pretenses." He holstered his pistol and grabbed the two tonfas on his thighs. He pushed the activation studs on each and a black lightaber blade came out from one end of each.

Vader seemed to be feeling Jaig through the force. "You are a Jedi, and yet not." Vader paused, musing this, then shook his helmeted head. "It doesn't matter. Soon you will be dead, or belong to the dark side. The Emperor can always use more servants."

"I'll never join you," said Jaig with conviction. They began to circle one another.

"Many have said that."

Jaig charged, his lightsabers casting shadowy patters in the air. Vader blocked and then struck, the force of his blow shook Jaig's entire body. For what Vader lacked in speed and finesse, he made up for in shear strength.

Jaig leaped backwards. Time was against him. He had to hurry, or his plan would fail. He charged again at Vader. As he came, Vader brought down a mighty over head chop. Jaig raised one of his blades to take the blow, but was a fraction of a second too slow.

Or so it seemed. Vader's blade struck the tonfa and fizzled out, leaving only a slight burn mark on the already black handle. In the momentary surprise, Sean swung one blade and cleaved off Vader's left foot, while the other managed a glancing blow on Vader's lightsaber handle, damaging it. He leaped away as the Dark Lord began to fall.

Vader used the force to keep himself up. He was able to steady himself on the stub. "Cortosis ore," Jaig explained. "My lightsaber tonfa handles are covered in it. It shorts out lightsabers." Jaig walked around his adversary. "How many Jedi have you killed? Dozens?Hundreds? It ends today." Jaig raised his tonfas with his arms stretched out straight. He had spun the tonfas around and began firing blaster bolts out of the opposite end from the lightsaber blade. As the bolts reached Vader, the Sith Lord raised his hands and absorbed the bolts. Jaig stopped firing in shock. He had heard of Tutaminis, the ability to absorb energy, but had never seen it used first hand. But Jaig was determined to win this battle. He stretched out with the force and pushed for all he was worth, intending on throwing the Dark Lord through a bulk head, or several of them.

Vader was pushed back only a few feet. Jaig's eyes widened. Vader was able to resist him through the force. He was stronger than Jaig. Jaig was now regretting not running him through when he had the chance. He probably wouldn't get another.

Changing tactics, Jaig charged again, planning on slicing up the Sith. Suddenly pipes and other pieces of metal were ripped off the walls and hurled at Jaig. It was a small storm of shrapnel and larger missiles. He was just able to hold it at bay with his lightsaber or shielding himself in the force. Vader stood eight meters away, calmly watching his attack. Jaig knew that the only reason he was able to survive this was because Vader was using so many objects. It was too much to concentrate on to give all of them sufficient force to get passed Jaig's defenses.

There was a general alarm and then explosions ripped around them, but particularly by Vader. Jaig smiled in spite of himself. His "package" had arrived.

"Sir! There's a Venator class Star Destroyer that just came out of hyperspace," called out a Lieutenant on the Escort Carrier's bridge. "It's right behind us!"

"What?!" barked the Captain, half rising out of his chair.

The Lieutenant brought up an image of it on the large screen in the bridge. A large, triangular, black ship appeared. It was a survivor of the Clone Wars, and was a well known style of ship. Some were still in use by the Empire, but most were being auctioned off as scrap metal.

"Sound the alarm!" roared the captain. Just then it fired. Its turbolasers and heavy proton torpedoes turned the Escort Cruiser's engines into slag.

The resulting explosions, buried Vader in a pile of rubble. Jaig used this diversion to run for the hanger. The kid had commandeered a TIE Bomber. Jaig motioned for the kid to get out of it. The kid hopped out of the cockpit. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"No shields. Go grab that Sentinel-class landing craft. I'm going to wire up these proton torpedoes to explode." The TIE bomber had twelve proton torpedoes on board. It took Jaig only a few moments to get them ready. They were already temperamental weapons.

Jaig jumped on board the Sentinel. The kid already had it on repulsers and was maneuvering it out of the hanger. Jaig took the yoke from him and gunned it for all it was worth. The made it out of the hanger moments before the bomber blew up, taking most of the hanger with it. Jaig's Star Destroyer had maneuvered itself in front of the Escort Carrier while exchanging fire. The concentrated fire from its turbolasers finished off any chance of the ship launching fighters.

Jaig had had his Star Destoryer programmed and rewired to be controlled by one person. L5 was currently controlling it from Jaig's Blastboat. Jaig radioed him, "Alright, L5, we're away. Cripple that ship. The planet's gravity will do the rest. Then I want you and it to go home. You know the location. Don't stay here any longer than you have to. I'd hate to get any scratches on my new ship." L5 gave an affirmative response. Jaig programmed in the coordinates for his jump, and gave a self satisfied smile. He had fought Vader to at least a draw if not a win depending on how well that Escort Carrier was doing, had gotten the information he had come for, and had possibly gotten a new recruit. He made the jump for hyperspace. Not a bad day's work.

The ship was in chaos. Forn made his way to the mostly destroyed hanger. He found his ship intact. He had decided that the Carrier was a lost cause and that he should abandon ship. Besides, Vader had not looked pleased. Forn had been watching the battle between Lord Vader and the Mandalorian through security cams. He had felt it was better for his health to stay away from the Sith Lord. That was another reason why he was leaving. Vader was still in the pile of rubble created from the initial attack and Forn didn't want to be around when he extracted himself. Forn had captured the suspect like he was supposed to, but he doubted that Vader or the Emperor would see it that way. He had one option left, to pursue the escapees, capture them, and bring them back to Coruscant himself.

With that in mind he flew his TIE Interceptor out of what was left of the hanger bay doors. He was just in time to see the Sentinel-class ship disappear into hyperspace. Dodging laser fire from the two capital ships, he placed himself at a secure position and waited. Eventually he knew that the Star Destroyer would leave, and he would track it. Hopefully it would lead him to the escapees.

Jaig waited in Mandalorian Jedi Space for L5 and his Star Destroyer. "Although, it probably won't be mine for long," he thought. Within about a half an hour, they both showed up, followed by a TIE Interceptor. The TIE made a bee line for him, its laser cannons pointing menacingly at him.

The pilot commed him. "This is Imperial Security Bureau Agent Forn. Prepare to be boarded. I am taking you into custody." Jaig's ship had little chance at being able to resist the TIE fighter and L5 was not a good enough gunner to pick off a fighter.

Jaig laughed. "I don't think they'd appreciate that."

Suddenly all around them ships materialized as they turned off their cloaking devices. There were frigates of every make and model, Tartan-class patrol cruisers, and more. It was a motley, but large and obviously well maintained fleet. Forn paled at the show of force. He attempted to jump to hyperspace, but found that he was in a gravity well, originating from another odd looking ship.

Jaig called over the comlink, "You are our prisoner. Welcome to the Mandalorian Jedi." A frigate came in close enough to use tractor beams and pull the TIE on board.

"Welcome back," called a voice over the speaker.

"It's good to be back, Mandalore," said Jaig.

"I assume this is your welcome back present?" Mandalore asked, meaning the Star Destroyer.

"Yes, I suppose it is," said Jaig, resignedly. He had been hoping on keeping it, but knew that was unlikely. "I also got the data from Palpatine's personal storehouse. It's encrypted, but I'm sure Chauce can break it. The Star Destroyer is in great shape and I have a contact where we can get more. I also set up networks for weapons and other equipment. None of it should be traceable. We…"

"How are you son?" asked Mandalore, interrupting.

Jaig paused. "I'm good, Dad. I miss home, our people, and especially my family."

"You didn't have to do it, you know. You could have just come home."

Jaig thought about that fateful day that Order 66 was enacted.

_Jaig turned a corner and almost ran head on into Master Shaak was wounded and her lightsaber was ignited. As she caught sight of Jaig her posture stiffened upright and she brought her lightsaber up into a defensive posture. The haze of battle and her wounds had dulled her senses._

"_Master Ti!" Jaig raised his hands up. Shaak Ti lowered her blade. _

"_Jaig, it is only you." She lowered her blade and braced herself against the wall. "Anakin has betrayed us. He and the clones are slaughtering the Jedi."_

"_We must stop them!" There was anger in Jaig's voice._

"_We can't. But I need your help. Come," she began to hobble down the hallway at little better than a walking pace. Before too long she led him into a storage room near the dormitories. Jaig could see nothing special about the room. Shaak Ti reached out in the force and a wall moved back revealing a group of eight children._

"_I need you to get them out of here. The tunnel leads away from the Temple. I need you to protect them and get them off planet. I believe you know a place." She looked at him knowingly._

_Jaig stiffened and then relaxed. "I understand, but I believe I'd be more use…"_

"_No, Jaig," she said forcefully. "You are needed for this."_

_Jaig's shoulders sagged. "Yes, Master."_

"_I will slow them down to give you time." She turned to go._

"_Wait," Jaig took a step and laid a hand on her shoulder. He closed his eyes in concentration. Shaak Ti gasped a little as her wounds healed. After a moment Jaig stepped back a little shakily. He took a deep breath and steadied himself._

_Shaak Ti marveled at the healing. She bowed her head to Jaig. "Thank you and farewell. May the force be with you."_

_Jaig nodded back to her and walked into the opening. He closed the door. It locked ominously. He looked around him. The children ranged from ages 14 to 6. They were all Jedi younglings and padawans. "It's going to be alright. I'll get you through this. I expect you older ones to watch out for the younger. We need to move now." He pointed to the oldest in the group. "You will watch the rear. If anything happens let me know immediately. Let's go."_

_They moved quickly down the tunnel. The sounds of the fighting lessened. Jaig could feel the Jedi dying. Those he had known hit him the hardest. His face got grimmer as they went on. The tunnel exit was in the under city. The under city was a haven for all kinds of beings who wished to avoid the law. That however did not mean it was safe. Jaig turned to the group of children. Between the Jedi robes and the thin piece of braided hair, they would be recognized as Jedi almost instantly. One by one Jaig cut off their braids. The robes he dirtied and tore. "It'll have to do for now," he thought to himself. "They'll mix in a little better now." He did the same to his own robe. He had those that had lightsabers hide them within their robes. _

_They left the tunnel. It was disguised as a wall in a dim alley. They moved quickly, but not so quickly as to attract attention. "For all the good it will do," thought Jaig. "One adult with eight children isn't exactly common down here. I need to find a way to keep us out of sight." He spotted an air speeder that would fit all of them. He looked around. No one seemed to be paying any attention to it or them, for now. He led the children to the speeder. He stretched out with the force and unlocked it. They all piled in. Jaig took off and flew as casually as possible._

"_Where are we going, Master?" asked the oldest child. So far they had all been too scared to say anything. Jaig looked at them with pity._

"_We're going to a safe house I have. You'll be alright there until I can get a ship to get you off planet."_

"_Aren't you coming?"_

"_No," Sean had come to decision in the tunnel. He would stay on Coruscant and be the biggest thorn in Palpatine's side as possible. "But don't worry. I have some friends who will protect you."_

"_Where will we go?"_

"_I can't tell you exactly where. It's a good place though. And it's far from Palpatine's control." Jaig reached into his robe and pulled out a communicator. "Now, be quiet for a minute. I need to warn them that we're coming." He spoke in a language that none of the children recognized. There was silence in the air speeder after that._

_A few minutes later they were nearing a dilapidated warehouse. At their approach, one of the doors opened and they flew inside. Jaig got out and the children followed him. A man approached him. He was armored head to toe. The children cowered behind Jaig. "It's okay," Jaig said, trying to calm them. The man eyed the children and asked Jaig a question in the language Jaig had used on the communicator. Jaig's answer was short and authoritative. The man half saluted and took off his helmet. _

"_It's alright. His name is Garth. I've known him for many years. He's a good man." Then realizing what the kids were thinking besides the differences in armor. "He's not a clone. " Then he turned back to Garth. "Take the speeder back. Put it somewhere near where I took it. Make sure no one follows you on the way back."_

"_Master, why did he salute you?" asked the oldest child._

_Jaid sighed. He knew this would be coming, even from the beginning of his mission. He just never thought that the ones he would be explaining to children. "What's your name?"_

"_Tal," the boy said._

"_Tal, I'm not a Jedi, at least not in the way you understand it. My ancestors moved into the unknown regions over two thousand years ago. They cut off official ties to the Republic, but still did business and other interactions covertly. They took in refugees and others seeking asylum. Some were Jedi. Some Jedi married and bore children. Fast forward a few centuries and most of my people had force powers and had adopted many of the Jedi teachings, while keeping their own. I am a Hukatar, a Mandalorian Jedi. So to answer your question, that man saluted me because I am a captain who was sent undercover into the Jedi. He is a member of my support and extraction team."_

"_You're a spy?" Tal asked, his eyes growing wary._

"_Yes," Jaig said simply. "I was sent to gather information and to try and stop this war. Upon learning of Palpatine's plans, I was supposed to stop them too. It appears I have failed on almost all accounts."_

"_How did the Master's not discover you?" asked Tal, some of the mistrust leaving his face._

_Jaig smiled. "Some of them did. Shaak Ti apparently knew. I told Yoda about my mission. He gave me permission to enter and allowed me to take on the identity of a Jedi Knight. He decided to keep it quiet, and apparently so did Shaak Ti. I don't know if any others knew, but it wouldn't surprise me."_

_With that Jaig told the padawans to rest. Garth came back a little later. Jaig told him what he wanted him to do. He was to take the padawans to the Mandalorian Jedi where they'd be safe. Then he told him that he was going to stay. He was going to be the biggest pain in the butt to Palpatine that he could be. Garth argued with him. Jaig knew he wouldn't understand, so he ordered Garth to obey._

He came back to himself. "I couldn't come back until I had fulfilled my mission. I had to insure our people's safety. With this information and weapons we can be ready if Palpatine ever discovers us. And we can be better prepared to defend the galaxy from outside threats."

"I understand, son. It was a hard choice to make. But now you can take pride in it. You've done well, and now no one, and especially yourself, can say anything different. Let the galaxy take care of Palpatine. We'll help the Rebels where we can, but we can't actively resist him. If we come in as saviors, they'll just think we mean to replace him."

"I know, dad."

"So, you'll come home?"

"Yes. I'll come home. My job is done in the galaxy, at least for now."

"Good. I'll see you at the spaceport then. Goodbye."

"Bye, dad." The connection clicked off. Jaig paused taking in all that had just happened.

Then Wraith spoke up, "So what's a Mandalorian Jedi?" Jaig smiled.


End file.
